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Sunday, 12 August 2012

THEATRE REVIEW: Journey To X

Recently, a Derry-based production of the National Theatre's Journey To X made it all the way to the London stage. Si's Sights And Sounds was lucky enough to be present when the play was staged in Derry's Playhouse Theatre earlier this year, and here's what we thought...

One of ten plays recently commissioned by the National
Theatre for young people, Nancy Harris's Journey To X, seems to be
treading all too familiar ground in its early moments. The sight and sound of
naive, idealistic schoolchildren, school bullies, and pop songs dominate the
first ten minutes, with four benches arranged to resemble a giant red "X" in
the centre of the stage. It's all too much like Inbetweeners-lite meets The
X-Factor, minus the crudity, of course.

But Journey To X is far more than a series of vignettes showing the
lengths a group of youngsters will go to for an appearance on The X-Factor;
it's a story of survival and adaptation under changing circumstances. It is
quite literally, as the production notes state, "a tale about friendship, a
journey, and the risks that teenagers take when plunged into the adult world",
and a consistently appealing one at that.

The
seemingly slight but subversively strong approach of locally-based director
Steve Wakeley allows the inexperienced cast to thrive. Wakeley has brought the
play into a Derry-Londonderry setting and cast genuine sixth-formers in the
parts, rather than having adults playing schoolchildren a la The Breakfast
Club or the aforementioned Inbetweeners. This adds both rawness and
authenticity to the play, making even the occasionally stilted line delivery
sound somewhat endearing.

The X-Factor, and reality television in general, is a genre ripe for both
commentary and satire. Harris’s script literally pulls no punches here,
although sometimes more subtly than at other times. There are instances where
characters all too openly talk about well worn themes like the fickle and
divisive nature of individual fame, the fact that everyone prefers the underdog
in competitions, and the false, vain nature of all reality shows. But they’re
counterbalanced successfully by amusing and interesting scenes such as a
heart-to-heart talk among the girls or the band donning tawdry outfits.
And even at its weakest moments, the play maintains an appeal thanks to the
engaging naïveté of the characters.

The script is also smart enough to underline the sticky moral situations that can
arise through the reality of the music business. At one point, the band
pick-pocket for their monetary needs ("Sometimes, good people have to steal.
Look at Robin Hood. Look at Jay-Z.") before trying to justify their actions by
saying that victims can profit in the future by selling stories about being
robbed by a famous band. Needless to say, there is the matter of becoming
famous in the first place, not to mention the long-term consequences of their
actions.

There's humanity in the play too, and it mainly comes through Rhianna McPartland's
Louise and Aine Harkin’s Penny. Louise reacts particularly angrily to being
bullied, resulting in a scene that's both shocking and unprecedented. And Penny
has a secret that leads to her wanting to succeed on The X-Factor – but
for different reasons to the rest of the band. When we get the full idea of
Penny's alienation during the final quarter of the play, it is genuinely
affecting.

Most intriguingly, the question of whether or not the band will succeed on The
X-Factor is left unanswered. There's every sign that they won't succeed,
from their all round disorganisation to their amateur dance routine (displayed
memorably to the tune of Blondie's "Call Me"). But - who knows? By
the time we hear the play’s ambiguous closing line – “You ready for whatever’s
coming next?” – we realise that it couldn't be more apt, as the band, and
especially Penny, seem profoundly uncertain as to whether or not they are
coming or going.